‘Turf wars’ in NoDa? Business owners want Charlotte street vending regulations
The discussion about street vending in NoDa isn’t new to Chris Wade.
As operations manager for Cabo Fish Taco, including the restaurant’s North Davidson Street location, he’s been through “several” Charlotte City Council meetings and met with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
He and others in the neighborhood’s business community say the vendors — a staple of NoDa’s artsy vibe — at times create safety and accessibility issues. They say vendors block sidewalks, take business, sell food without health inspections and engage in “turf wars” that have escalated to violence.
Now, the City Council is considering regulations that would create permits for vendors and potentially restrict them to certain areas.
Wade hopes the changes will put to rest years of debate and bring harmony to the neighborhood.
“It would be a disadvantage for us if it stays in place the way it is,” he said.
Charlotte’s plan for NoDa street vendors
City Council members heard proposals for regulating street vending in NoDa from city staff Monday after the council’s safety committee voted to take action last week.
NoDa business and property owners attended both meetings to tell officials about their concerns.
Currently, city staff told council members, vendors can set up anywhere in Charlotte without a permit except “congested business districts.” Parts of uptown make up the city’s only current congested business district. There, street vending is restricted to permitted selling at the Tryon Street Mall.
That policy hasn’t been updated since the mid-1980s.
To address NoDa’s concerns, city staff suggest a “pilot program” in the neighborhood for regulating vendors. NoDa would temporarily become another congested business district, and vendors would apply for a permit with the city to keep selling within designated areas.
City leaders also are considering raising the fine for vending without a permit from a maximum of $50 to up to $500. They also told staff to work with the county to look into health inspections for vendors who serve food and drinks.
Council members could vote on the measures as soon as June 23, with implementation coming later in the summer. If the City Council waits till after its July recess to make decisions, staff said the new policies would likely take effect in the fall.
NoDa businesses hope for solution to ‘cumbersome’ issues
Wade believes a lack of structure is responsible for the “cumbersome” issues that have emerged between some vendors and brick-and-mortar businesses.
He said the restaurant has “seen some decline in business already” due to the problems and pointed to a 2023 shooting outside Cabo Fish Taco as a particularly jarring incident. That shooting — which left two people hospitalized and happened on a busy summer Friday evening — sparked discussions at the time about street vending restrictions. But the city didn’t institute any policy changes.
Now, Wade is optimistic the City Council will take action and will improve NoDa’s situation. He said designating space for vending could make the stands more desirable for customers, akin to a farmer’s market or Charleston’s City Market.
“Why not make it a destination?” he said.
Gina Spriggs, owner of Curio Craft and Conjure, on N. Davidson Street, said the number of vendors increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. She “had no problem with it,” believing it helped draw people to the neighborhood by helping maintain NoDa’s artsy vibe amid rapid development.
The vendors were “artists or creatives that were selling their wears,” but now “everybody is coming out the woodwork selling whatever it is that they want to sell.”
Spriggs hasn’t had safety issues with vendors and says many are “respectful.” She also understands why some business owners struggle with vendors selling similar products outside their locations — and doing so for a cheaper price because they have less overhead.
“It’s a very fine line,” she said.
She said many vendors would stick around if the city imposes regulations.
“The vendors that are actually respectful and have some type of integrity, they’ll pony up the cash to do whatever it is they have to do,” Spriggs said.
Can NoDa have ‘best of both worlds’?
Sitting outside a NoDa coffee shop on a Tuesday morning, Ruben Garratt said he knows business owners in the neighborhood who get frustrated with vendors not having to go through any processes while brick-and-mortar owners pay taxes and get insurance.
“I’m for the street vendors. I just think they should be in a designated area that’s not right in front of business,” he said.
Friends Marrissa Brady and Arina Harling, who live near NoDa and frequent the neighborhood, say they’ve never felt uncomfortable around vendors, but navigate around them on the sidewalk.
“That’s just being part of a city … It’s a great way for people to come out and express themselves and be able to start a business,” Harling said.
The pair said it’s reasonable for the city to impose permitting if it’s not tedious, especially for those who sell food.
“If it’s like going to the DMV, I think that’s super unfair,” Brady said.
Spriggs is hopeful the regulations can make a difference.
“I think if there were rules in place, if there were people that actually did have to pay something, that it would kind of thin it out a little bit so that we could have the best of both worlds,” she said.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 7:30 AM.
